The Winter: A Halo Fanfiction
by Pariah FADE
Summary: Step into the boots of Damien Franko a spartan IV stationed on the Infinity as he searches all of New Vancouver to find his brother. Can he solve the mystery of Adams disappearance? Please follow and review if you enjoyed it! This is my first story so reviews are extremely crucial!
1. Part 1

Halo

The Winter Part 1

Damien Franko shot out of his bunk to the sounds of sergeant Phelps infernal yelling. The room was dark and Franko's mouth was dry he and the other members of his squad didn't need a clock to tell the time. 04:00 hours. It was time to get to work. Franko was 25 when he first signed up with the ODST's. He had short spiked hair and after all the time on the Infinity he was pretty damn pale. Rest assured, if the Infinity had a tanning area he would be the first in line. Franko was suprisingly skilled with two things. Handguns and sneaking he always impressed his superior officers so much in fact that it earned him the callsign "Sidearm" but his friends seemed to like the name "kissass" instead.

In a matter of minutes he was dressed and showered and him and his squad immediately hit the gym. It seemed like that was all they ever did. Gym 04:00-06:00, Breakfast 06:00-07:00, Target practice 07:00-09:00, Lunch and free time 09:00-12:00, War games 12:00-17:00 and finally dinner and free time 17:00-20:00 bed was at 21:00. The timetable was tight, but it was a hell of a lot tighter during the human-covenant wars in 2552 which Franko just caught the end of when he signed up.

Franko returned to his bunk right after dinner he was always tired after the war games simulations and he never really used his free time. It was still only 18:00 and he had almost fallen asleep when he was startled by a loud voice on the intercom "Damien Franko please report to Spartan Palmer immediately". Damian did not know a whole lot about the Spartan IVs only that Palmer was the leader of all the fire teams aboard Infinity and that his brother was a member. Nothing made sense about the call. What did the Spartan's want with him? Was this about his brother?

Damien still had an hour and a half of free time so he stopped at one of the many coffee machines that lined the hallways outside of the cafeteria. Worry started to fill him up as he thought more and more about the call. Was his brother killed? There were more questions then answers and he did not even put cream in his coffee. His fast walk turned into a jog and then a full on sprint. The elevator was just ahead and he keyed in the floor which he thought was the Spartan's operation center.

As the elevator dropped Damian quickly downed his coffee it was a little strong considering that it was black but he didn't care. He quickly woke up as the elevator doors opened and light flooded the cabin. The room was huge and the light quickly blinded him for a short time. When his eyes finally adjusted he stepped out and took a slow look around. In every direction he looked, he saw walking giants stepping in and out of even bigger spinning rings. Damien saw one Spartan without his helmet, his armor was being disassembled. On every turn of the ring it was like a new article of armor disappeared. It was fascinating and a little scary. His armor was a dark green dented and scratched and his face looked like it was carved out of stone. That's when Damien's attention snapped to a woman standing in the center of the room. It was Palmer. She was pretty good looking in his opinion, she had reddish brown hair and silver armor. Palmer flashed Damien a quick smirk. He felt the worry leave his mind. Everything was okay. As he approached he relised that she must have stood over 2 feet taller then him. Damien snapped her a quick salute "Ma'am, ODST Damien Franko reporting as requested". He tried to make himself sound as formal as possible. After all, it wasn't every day he talked to a Spartan.

"At ease trooper" Palmer said calmly. They started to walk down the the hall that separated the giant room. "Your brother's fireteam has just lost a Spartan on the field and cannot continue to participate in missions". Damien was suddenly interested, the Spartan's were supposed to be unbeatable. "And against recommendations he has seen fit to recruit you, an ODST into his squad". Damien's face went pale and his blood ran cold. They reached the end of the room and entered what appeared to be a briefing center. There stood a small crowd of Spartan's all engaged in conversation. "I would be working with Spartan's?" he was still shocked, the room fell silent. "Yes indeed" a voice came from behind Damien and when he turned around he saw another Spartan, the fireteam captain to be precise.

"So what do you say?" the voice sounded happy to see him and instantly Damien knew who it was. Palmer cut in "Damien, this is your brother Adam." the Spartan took off his helmet and Damien was about to jokingly salute when suddenly Adam wrapped his arms around him. It had been years since the military separated the two of them in 2554 and he had not been allowed into the Spartan command center to see Adam until today. All the Spartan's in the room looked in their direction Adam put his hand on Damien's shoulder "Fireteam Theta. This is our new recruit. My brother, Damien." Adam turned to his brother "you better go and pack your things kid. And come back too. I have arranged a bunk for you. It's not the best but it will do." now Damien's worry turned into excitement. No more dealing with the clowns in his squad. Or that bastard sergeant Phelps. "our first mission together starts tomorrow."

"Our first mission?" Damien was still puzzled. He wasn't prepared for a mission there was usually a few days notice before. Damien double-timed it to the elevator and keyed in the floor to his squads bunk. Damien's head was rushing with thoughts, what would the Spartan's think of his performance on the field?, what kind of mission would he be on? It was now 21:30 and That's when he came to realize. Phelps patrolled the hallway until 23:00.

"Damn" Damien said to himself. He was in a serious rush which meant he didn't have time to be stopped and questioned. He would have to sneak back to the bunks, and it just so happened that sneaking was one of his specialties.

Phelps was pissed, he was aware that Franko was missing in the head count and he was using every sense to find him. Phleps was in his late 50's, a grizzled old man with complexions that always made him look angry. He had a buzz cut and a "helljumpers" Tattoo on the back of his neck. He was patrolling the halls when he passed the elevators.

The elevator doors opened and Damien stepped out and looked both ways. Clear. He began to make for the bunks to collect his things when as luck would have it, Phelps turned the corner. It all happened pretty fast. Phelps reached out, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pinned him against the wall. "Where the hell have you been trooper!" Damien felt a miniscule drop of spit hit him in the face and he was automatically disgusted. "Just out for a nice stroll sir." Damien liked being a smartass to Phelps and that's where Phelps drew the line. He was about to punch Damien in the face when he grabbed both of Phelps' arms and swung him into the wall. "I'm with the Spartan's now" Damien said with smug satisfaction. "I don't have to take your shit anymore."

Now Phelps saw him as a threat, he didn't care who Franko was with no one beat the sergeant in a fight. That's when Palmers voice keyed in on his radio. "Back off sergeant. Franko is under direct orders from me. He will be retrieving his things and not take orders from you any longer." Damien was impressed. How did she know what was going on? Was she tracking him through the cameras? He flashed Phelps a big humorous smile and continued to get his things. At 22:00 He was back on the elevator and on his way down to the Spartan command center.

When the doors opened Palmer and Adam were there to greet him. The giant room was now empty and they all began to walk down the hall. Damien turned to his brother who was now out of his armor "why me?" he asked. "Why not just pull another Spartan for your team?" "Because" Adam said quietly "because its been a long time since we have seen each other. I wanted to reconnect. See how you were holding up." "and" Palmer cut in "dragging you away from Phelps was probably for the best." "Yea" Damien laughed to himself "that guy is an ass hole." They reached the door to the briefing room. "Franko please show your brother to his new bunk." "yes ma'am" Adam said looking at his brother and then back at Palmer. He saluted and then Damien did as well. Palmer returned their salutes and then turned in for the night.

Damien's room was small and dark. It shared a lot of the traits that his old bunk had, not that it was doing him any favors. He kept a journal which he always wrote in when he was alone. He had the room all to himself so he had plenty of time to write today's events down. His fellow solders always looked down on him for it calling it a waste of time and teenagers habit. But if he ever died in action he wanted to leave something behind for his wife Marien. It would be shipped home and given to her to do whatever she wanted with it. When he was done writing down the previous 24 hours into the book, he closed it, hit the lights and slept.

The wake up call for Spartan's was a whole lot different then for the ODSTs. Of course he still was an ODST just working with Spartan's. So then why did he feel like one? Damien quickly discarded the thought and shot out of bed. He looked around, no angry sergeant. No one but him and his alarm clock. He saw a note stuck to the door it said "suit up trooper, time to get to work." There was a large briefcase on the desk beside his bunk with his helmet on top of it. He opened the brief case and saw all his armor and a large grin stretched across his face. He showered and suited up he. Damien looked at his helmet and saw his reflection he was a little more then satisfied with himself. Then he immediately made for the briefing room. There stood Adam and the rest of fireteam theta. It was show time.

Adam addressed the fireteam. "Now that are all here we can begin the briefing" Damien thought it was incredible to see his older brother lead the fireteam with such confidence. "our mission is reconnaissance." A holographic ring structure appeared on the table in front of them. There were three tables in the room and because there were only five of them they could easily crowd around the table so everyone could see. "This is the halo installation 03. As all of you may know we own research bases on all of the remaining halo rings." Damien didn't know any of this and all of the information came as a surprise. "But however, one of the bases has become compromised." A small red square formed on one part of the ring and zoomed in showing a topographic map of the area. There were mountains and lakes it was like nothing he'd ever seen. A Spartan raised her hand. "What kind of resistance are we expected to find, sir?" The map disappeared and showed every class of covenant from hunters to grunts. "we believe that only the covenant will be in system today." "No Prometheans?" One of the Spartan's looked disappointed." Damian had never fought Prometheans in person however he had heard too many storys about them. He hoped to hell he didn't see them here. "I'm afraid not Masterson. No eyewitness reports have come in from installation 03 yet. Therefore we suspect the Prometheans haven't made it there yet." Damian let out a silent sigh of relief. "We will make camp during the night so pack a good weeks work of whatever you need." To Damian it sounded like fun, like just another camping trip. "Hit the armory Spartan's. Pelican leaves in 30 minutes."

All of the Spartan's made ready for the mission. Some were packing food and clothes and some of them made for the armory. Damien chose the armory first. He followed a group of them to the armory and only grabbed what he needed. Two M6H silenced magnums and a combat knife. "Hey helljumper!" one of the Spartan's shouted across the armory. Damien approached him. "Name's Richard Masterson" Masterson had dark skin and a buzz cut. "I'm the heavy weapons specialist on fireteam Theta." he held out his hand "nice to meet you." Damian said as he shook Masterson's oversized hand. "Your packing pretty light there. You tryin' to show off?" Damian tried to make himself sound wise. "One shot put in the Right place can do more damage then a whole clip from an MA5B." Masterson put on a small smile. "Pffftt! You sound like Opal." "Opal?" Damien thought that was the strangest callsign he ever heard. "The teams sniper and philosopher." Masterson pointed to her, Opal saw them and approached. "You must be that ODST that you brother keeps bragging about." She was pale and had somewhat short white hair and blue eyes. "He doesn't look so tough." Against his better judgment Damien had to ask. "so. Why do they call you Opal?" She leaned in so she could look him straight in the eyes. "Survive this mission. And I will tell you." She walked away and boarded the pelican.

Damien watched her walk away. "Relax kid" Masterson said. "she gets flirty with everyone before a mission. Its her way of wishing them good luck. Giving them something to fight for. It's a huge tease if you ask me." "She's beautiful in her own way." Damien said. "But I'm a married man. I have something to fight for already." He put on his helmet and the rest of the squad boarded the pelican. The lift that the pelican was on descended and they took off. Straight to installation 03. Straight to hell.


	2. Part 2

Halo

The Winter part 2

The Pelican was packed with survival gear. Tents, weapons and even a portable armor cradle incase of an emergency where a Spartan needed to be removed from his/her armor. It was going to be a three hour ride to the drop zone so everyone was either talking or getting precious hours of sleep. Adam had stowed something under his seat it was a blue box with curved corners it almost looked like a suitcase. It seemed familiar but why? "so how does it feel to be working with the best of the best?" A voice called out to Damien from across the pelican. The Spartan had slicked black hair and his armor was black with red accents. He had an almost French accent and Damien could instantly tell he was from earth. "This is Joseph Agnés our medic." Opal said. She looked at Agnés in such a way that Damien could tell he was popular with the ladies. Opal continued. "And over there, that's Gyro." Damien looked over and saw him. His attention was completely focused on his sword which he sat there sharpening for the entire ride. "He's a mute. But his actions speak louder then words ever could." Damien only caught the last of whatever Opal was saying because he was so focused on the armor that Gyro was wearing. "what's up with his armor?" Damien asked. "its customized with forerunner tech to allow him more flexibility in battle. The techs call it Fotus." It was red with green accents. It reminded Damien of a rhinoceros due to the horn that sat on the front of the helmet. A voice came on the pelicans intercom. "This is your pilot speaking, ETA an hour and a half. Have a nice day." Opal addressed Damien again. "You better get some sleep while you still can Franko. It's gonna be a long day."

Damien woke up to the sounds of the pelicans engines roaring to a stop. The ramp was already down and the Spartans had started unloading. He stood up, slung his tent and back pack over his shoulder and hopped off the pelican. "We need to make camp for tonight." Adam said. "Lets go location scouting. Preferably someplace near a lake." The field they had landed in was just grass. No trees, no life. They walked a good two miles before a forest came into view. Damien heard running water and branched off into the forest. He crouched in a bush and evaluated the area. All clear. He called Adam on the comm "I found a clear area just ahead the line of trees. There's a lake and a waterfall. Wanna come and check it out?" "Affirmative" Adam said. He rallied up the Spartans and followed Damien's tag on his HUD. When Adam and the Spartans arrived he decided that this would be the best place to set up camp. Masterson checked the depth of the water. It was about seven feet deep and he looked satisfied. "Anyone up for a swim?" Just then a small team of grunts emerged from the bushes "Damn! Scouts." Adam shouted into his comm "Weapons free people don't let them report our position!". Damien hardly had time to draw his magnums before Gyro disposed of the two of them with one swipe of his sword. Two down, one to go. Opal was about to take the shot when Damien jumped out of the trees knife in hand and slashed the grunt in the face. "How the hell did you do that!" Adam said. Damien replied: "It's all in the training. I guess the only thing that separates Spartans from ODSTs are the methods they use." Adam shrugged and addressed the fireteam. "Come on are we making a camp or sitting around all day!" Everyone got straight to work. Damien was setting up his tent while Masterson and Agnés waited for the pelican to arrive and deliver the portable armor cradle. Opal sat on a rock adjusting the sights on her sniper rifle and Adam was testing out some of the equipment that he had brought. "Not like the usual family trip." Damien thought to himself. "But there's no place I would rather be."

It was 01:00 and Damian couldn't sleep. He went outside and through the blackness he saw a roughly female figure. Opal looked at him with her blue eyes as she stepped out of the armor cradle. "I hate sleeping with my armor on." She said. "It makes me feel trapped." She still wore the black undersuit that the armor attached to and due to the tightness of the suit, it seemed very revealing. He admired her features as she walked away. Damien still felt strange about the entire situation, he still never understood why his brother picked him and why Palmer aloud it. Damien sat on a rock and thought to himself for what felt like hours. He stared blankly at the waterfall and admired the slight glow that the water had. He thought about where the glow came from. "Is there something behind that waterfall?" he asked himself. Next to it there was a cave and he relised that there must have been something there. Damien looked back at his tent. "I could do it." he thought "strap on my armor and go on a little adventure." He tried to banish the thought but could no longer resist. In ten minutes he was suited up armed and ready to check out the area. Damien took a quick sweep of the camp everyone was asleep and he was ready to go. As he approached the cave it became rather dark so he activated the VISR mode that was built into every ODST's HUD. The cave was quiet, Damien could hear droplets of water hitting the floor and the stone of the cave quickly faded into a shining steel. He had found the light source and relised that he was walking into a forerunner artifact. The room was lit by a holographic panel with an unknown function, the walls were full of complexion and everything was lit with magnificent blue lights. Of course he had seen forerunner tech before during a few deployments on requiem but it always has a way of feeling new every time. Damien looked down at the panel and felt the urge to activate it, he knew he shouldn't but he couldn't stop himself. He touched the panel and the entire wall that it was on melted away to reveal a window. All Damien could see was the back of the waterfall until the water unexpectedly stopped. He could see the camp lights started to go on inside the tents and Damien knew Adam was going to give him shit. That's when through the reflection of the window Damien could see a dog-like silhouette coming up behind him. Damien spun around as fast as he could to find not one, but an entire horde of Promethean crawlers. He swore to himself as he bolted for an exit.

When Damien made it to the camp he ran into Masterson Damien's face was pale white and he was still panting from his daring escape "Kid, what did you do?" The shocked trooper looked behind himself to find that the lake had been drained to reveal a mysterious forerunner passageway. "they got the jump on me sir." Damien said still panting. Masterson replied, "Who, who got the jump on you?" suddenly the squad shot out of their tents to find Crawlers poring out of the passageway Damien recently revealed. Theta shot and slashed at the enemies, everyone was wearing their armor except for opal who had been keeping her distance and sniping. "Oh..." Masterson replied as he moved to join the fight. The tables turned as fireteam Theta quickly cleaned up the remaining hostiles. "Think we should check it out?" Damien said as he stared into the dark passage Adam turned to him "I think we should find out what the hell you think you were doing!"


	3. Part 3

Halo

The Winter part 3

"Adam?"

"Yes?"

"Do you ever think I worry to much, you know, about everything?"

Damien had never thought this way about himself because it never occurred to him that maybe his over reactions to everything might be misplaced.

Fireteam Theta was packing up to further explore the forerunner cave that Damien opened. "I don't know what you mean." Adam said. Damien continued, "I mean that every time something so little happens such as getting called down to the Spartan ops center, I start to worry for absolutely no reason." Damien recalled how he sprinted to the ops center nearly spilling piping hot coffee on himself. Or how he purposely fought Sergeant Phelps when he could have just stated his business. "Not sure." Adam said "But-" Masterson moved in and whispered to Adam. Damien caught a part of that sentence, something about a side effect and- "Okay team are we ready to go?" Adam addressed the fireteam. "Yes sir!" everyone looked at Adam and Adam looked down the tunnel. "And to think Just an hour ago this was a lake." Opal said. Then Agnés cut in, "You almost sound scared lady. Need me to hold your hand?" Once Adam had shut both of them up, everyone grabbed their bags and tents and proceeded into the dark tunnel.

As the team progressed their way into the tunnel Adam called the research base that they were supposed to protect. "Research base Québec come in this is fireteam Theta do you read?" A woman answered on the radio "Fireteam Theta is that you? This is Helena Macintosh of research base Québec, we are green, the Covenant are pulling ou-" static started to form over the transmission. "Artifact...Covenan-...Heading your w-" Everyone was silent for a brief moment before Masterson broke the silence. "Did she just say that the covenant are- Before he could finish a distant explosion shook the entire hallway and the team broke into a sprint to investigate.

What they found wasn't easy to comprehend. A giant room of unfathomable size and scale. "So where did the explosion come from?" Agnés said. Suddenly more explosions lined the walls and covenant poured into the room. "Retreat!" Adam yelled, fireteam Theta was instantly outnumbered by what looked like thousands. Damien ran in what looked like circles until he found what looked like a crawlspace. "we have an exit, come to my position!" Damien shouted into his comms. Once everyone arrived Adam spoke with total unconfidence. "this is a little sketchy bud are you sure this leads out?" "It has to. Honestly what choice do we have!" Damien replied. Everyone started crawling through when Opal turned around and whispered to herself "How people treat you is their karma, how you react is yours." Damien was about to crawl in before he heard this and so he joined Opal as she took a last look into the room. "Tell me Franko, are you a believer in karma?" Damien looked at her and replied, "no... I guess I just never really thought about it..." She looked back at him and smiled "Your brother understands quite well after what happened to your parents." Damien looked down to the floor almost insulted by what she said but managed to keep his cool. He did remember what happened to his parents but didn't want reflect on it. Damien looked back up and at Opal. "Why did you ask me about karma by the way?" She looked back, "because karma is everything, you live and breathe it." Her smile suddenly went down, "And it almost always decides your fate."

Damien was about to enter the crawl space before Opal continued, "You know where we are right?" "No." Damien replied still looking into the crawl space. "This is a library, and the Covenant already have the key.

As Damien crawled through the narrow passage he thought about what Opal said about his family, about his history with his brother.

Reach, 2552, New Alexandria

Damian and Adam were living with their parents on Reach when the Covenant hit. The streets were a mess and Damian and Adam tried as hard as they could to get their family to an evac bird.  
Unfortunately their best efforts weren't enough...  
As they ran through the streets Damien watched as covenant forces decimated civilians...  
They watched as the horrible puddles of red and purple grew larger by the minute...  
And then that damned elite...  
Damien and Adam watched as their father was taken hostage by that monster. Adam picked a magnum up off the ground and was forced to shoot through his own father to stop the impending threat.  
And on the final sprint to the evac bird their mother took a plasma round in the chest.  
So yes, Adam knows karma very well Because those tormenting memories will stay with the both of them for the rest of their lives...

"Look at that view." Adam said as the team emerged onto a cliffedge. Damien was the last to emerge and he saw the "nice view". That is if nice means an entire Covenant fleet massing towards the control room. "We are doomed" Agnés said sounding disappointed. "that doesn't mean its over guys Adam stood straight and looked at every member of his team, he looked proud and was ready to lead then strait to hell. "like I said kid." Opal looked at Damien. "How you react is yours."


	4. Part 4

Halo

The Winter part 4

"How is our ride doing?"  
"I'm trying to call one in but these radio channels are scrambled!"  
Damien was panicking. He hadn't been prepared for this, no one had, but this was the situation they were faced with. "We will call a pelican to pick us up and we will race to the control room." It was a crazy idea but it was their only chance. "How did the storm manage this with so few numbers?" Adam turned to face Damien "I don't know kid."

Finally a pelican broke though to them and fireteam Theta were at the control room in a mere twenty minutes. The team fought up the shrine, clearing level after level of grunts and elites before they reached the top. A pair of hunters and an elite Zealot holding the Index waited for them at the large metallic door. "Open fire!" Adam shouted as the Spartans jumped into action taking down the hulking beasts and the elite in only a few short bursts it was all to easy until Damien vanished behind the door with the Index in his hand. He walked down the hallways as the metallic doors slid and locked behind him denying access to his squadmates. Damien couldn't feel anything, it was as if something was driving him forward. He tried with all of his strength to pull away from the control panel in the spherical room but it was too late.  
The index slid into the panel with an unsettling ease and soon all he could see was white.  
Damien felt like his life was gone, he could feel nothing, this was death? But out of the blackness that engulfed his mind came something unexpected.

A leaderboard.

With all the names.

Deaths.

And kills of fireteam Theta.

Damien Franko was far from dead... He had been in a War Games simulation for the past 48 hours.

END OF CHAPTER 1

Hey guys Pariah FADE here!  
I deeply apologize to my followers for the painstakingly long wait for Part 4. I have been occupied with school and have had no time to write. I want to let everyone know that The Winter will be back in full swing with much longer parts/chapters. The next chapter starts on October 5th and I hope you all stick around for the continuation of this epic adventure!


	5. Part 1, Chapter 2

Halo: The Winter

Part 1, Chapter 2

Damien's eyes shot open and he sat up to find a room of strangers staring at him. Palmer was in the back pacing back and forth. "Meet me in the debriefing room" She said as she began to walk for the hallway. He was confused, why activate Halo, why did he lose control over himself. These thoughts and more were flooding is mind as he approached the room that Palmer was standing in. Damien hardly made it through the door before she started her lecture. "First, on behalf of the Office of Naval Intelligence I would like to extend our condolences. Adam and the remaining members of Theta vanished off of our radar almost two months ago. We couldn't tell you at the time because the mission they were on is classified tier 1, however a thorough investigation has been conducted and today we can tell you the truth." A holographic map like the one in the simulation appeared. "This is Canada, more specifically New Vancouver. The mission, find and eliminate the remaining leaders of the rebellion October Moon. Theta was supposed to enter through the back alleys here." The map zoomed in to a large office building with two smaller buildings to the left and right of it. "Once they reached the objective they came under fire and vanished." Damien looked confused. "How can they just vanish?" Palmer continued "We don't know which is why we have been investigating so carefully. We believe the storm may be assisting them, it would explain how they vanished. The elites move fast, in, out and its like they were never there." Damien was very upset to hear this news.

"are we still investigating?"

"no."

"Then who will?"

"You."

Damien was hit with surprise. "you saw me in the war games I can't survive against the storm on my own!" This was the part Palmer loved the most. "not as you are. But you signed up for the Spartans did you not? That's why we put you into the simulation. That's how you will stand a chance. I don't know why you activated Halo back there but it doesn't matter. You have proven yourself more then capable, Just sign here." She handed him a clipboard and a piece of paper. Damien looked up, angry but ready for what lies ahead. He signed and handed it back to her. Palmer smirked and looked at him. She stood up and held out her hand, they shook hands and Palmer said, "Welcome to hell solder, your rolling with the best of the best now."  
"This... Is just The beginning."

Months of training followed and it was almost a year before Damien could, in the least use the armor. After that, it was more and more mental and physical training until the day would come where he would be sent back to New Vancouver. "Its time for your first op Franko." Damien stood at attention ready for the start of his new life. Palmer walked over and sized up her brand new creation. "We have just the armor for you." A crewman wheeled over a new set of armor still in the shipping container. "Give it a minute." Palmer said with a giant smirk on her face. Damien looked up at his new set of armor as the crewmen were mounting it onto the armor cradle. It was a gorgeous suit, white with navy blue accents blocky yet curvaceous and complex. Palmer walked up to the cradle and put her hand on the helmet. "This baby is only a few weeks old it was just recently designed and manufactured. Yep, she is one of a kind." She took a deep breath and continued. "Franko, I would like you to meet..."

"The Winter."


	6. Part 2, Chapter 2

The Winter Part 2, Chapter 2

Damien thought about how far he's come since the years before. He thought about how awesome it was going to be to strap on this kick ass suit of armor. And how being a Spartan has made him into a completely different person. However he still wondered after all this time if Adam was still out there. Damien didn't care about the rest of Theta because he doubted they even existed, but he hoped that maybe he was wrong.

He stepped into the armor cradle as the large metal rings rotated around him piecing the armor on him one section at a time. "For your first op we are making you the official leader of stealth team Sigma" Palmer said, "Once your all cozy in your new suit you can meet them."  
"I would like that" Damien replied. He stepped down from the cradle and Palmer handed him his helmet. "I'm afraid this is where we part ways Spartan." Palmer said looking impressed. "Your new team is down the hall over there. I need to get back to sending Crimson, Majestic and Castle into the shit." Damien nodded as she turned and left. That was the last time he ever talked to her.  
Damien examined Sigma from a distance. He thought he would stand out considering everyone's armor was jet black and his was such a bright shade of white. Finally he took a breath and approached.

"Uh oh" one of the Spartans said "the new boss-man is coming, everyone form up." Damien looked at his new team and laughed under his breath. "At ease guys, I may be team leader but I'm not about to treat you all like shit." One of the Spartans sighed in relief and held out his hand. "Call me Reaper" Damien shook Reaper's hand as he continued "This is Cicada and Phobia." The two Spartans behind Reaper high-fived and he could hear Phobia say, "Yes! We got mentioned!" Cicada then proceeded to punch him in the shoulder. Damien enjoyed the comic relief that came with his new team. During his Spartan training, he suffered from minor clinical depression so a laugh was always refreshing. "So I heard we're going to New Vancouver on earth." Reaper said "I always wanted to go there." Damien smiled at Reaper's anticipation. "We're going on our next shore leave there to conduct an investigation. But for right now our orders are to collect some UNSC gear from a salvage ship captured by rebels. I know it's a drag but our orders didn't say anything about grabbing certain equipment for ourselves."

"when do we leave?" Cicada asked.

Damien put on his helmet and his HUD flickered to life.

"Right now."


	7. Part 3 Chapter 2

The Winter Part 3, Chapter 2

The Pelican ride was quiet, Cicada and Phobia sat across from eachother with their heads down and Damien sat to the front of the Pelican with his back against the wall and his feet up. Rebels were the easiest enemy to deal with, they were disorganized and sloppy with their work, this mission was going to be a breeze. Suddenly a holographic person flickered in the Pelican breaking the silence, "this is UNSC command to stealth team Sigma, you can call me James." Damien was half asleep before the figure in the pelican nearly scared him out of his seat. "Am I interrupting something squad leader?" James said laughing. Damien was about to say something before Cicada and Phobia beat him to it. "No sir, Franko just needs a little shuteye." Then Cicada cut in, "Everyone needs shuteye when their dealing with you Phobia." Damien raised his head and looked at James' projection. "Go ahead James." Spartan Palmer has put me in charge of your team Franko. From here on out I will be giving you your orders." Damien took his feet off of the seat next to him and sat up. "Understood, anything else?" A holographic ship appeared beside James. "I would like to go over the mission plan."

"This is the UNSC Halcyon Class Cruiser "Soleil Levant" or Rising Sun if you prefer. Last night it was seized by a rebel group ." An expression of shock spread across Cicada's face. "An entire cruiser sir?" "Yes we have no idea who they are and how big their organization is so we need to be careful." That shut Cicada up pretty quickly. "your mission is to drive the rebels out of the ship. Use any means necessary to see that the mission is completed. Any questions?" Phobia raised his hand. "Are we going in alone?" James answered, "No we are also sending in stealth team Lambda. By no means are you to communicate with eachother, we cannot risk having our cover blown." Phobia sat back in his seat, satisfied with James' answer. "Good luck team, James out." Just then Reaper stepped out from the cockpit door and Damien turned to face him. "Nice of you to join us, chatting it up with the pilot I see. Did you get all that?" "Yep." Reaper said with confidence. "How much do you want to bet that's the October Moon in there." Suddenly Reaper noticed on his HUD that ten credits had been transferred into his Spartan account and Damien put his feet back up saying, "you win."

The pilot came onto the comms, "Target in 30 minutes get ready boys." "How much do you want to bet that their defenses are active." Said Cicada, then without speaking Damien transferred twenty credits into Cicada's account and waited for the arrival.  
The pelican started to shake and the pilot spoke up, "I need someone up here on weapons!" Reaper stood up, "That's my cue." Then everyone else stood up and Damien started. "Okay guys we are going in fast, chances are they will be ready for us the second we step out." Cicada raised his silenced SMG and Phobia did the same with his silenced MA5B Assault Rifle. "And we will be ready for them."  
His team was confident and Damien liked that very much. Additionally, he didn't know that you could mount a silencer on an MA5B, he would have to get Phobia to show him how to do that. "I will stay on the guns." Said Reaper, "Good luck."

The pelicans doors opened and Damien raised his two signature magnums "lets do this." He said as the three spartans jumped out onto the hangar deck. It was dark in the hangar and Damien motioned for his team to turn on their integrated VISR interfaces to find a surprisingly small amount of resistance. "It's too dark for them to see us, split out and pick them off nice and quiet." Before he new it Damien's team had disappeared from his field of vision and he was on his own. There were five men all split up that Damien had to deal with. As he begun clearing out the enemy's one by one Reaper came onto the com channels. "We just did a scan of the ship, they lost power once the fuel levels dried up and the power generators shut down." "Understood Reaper, Thanks." In a strange way, Damien liked this part of the job. He liked working in the dark, on his own. He approached the last man leaving behind a trail of broken and bloody bodys. "Sigma come in, I am almost clear give me your status'." They must have been busy because all Damien got in return was two acknowledgement lights on his HUD. He came behind the last trooper and slit his throat, "Sigma I'm moving on, fan out into the ship and eliminate all hostiles leave no one alive."


End file.
